Petra Nemcova

Model

Born: c. 1979

Birthplace: Karvina, Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic)

Best known as: Cover model for the 2003 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue

Nicknamed the "Czech Chick," Petra Nemcova graced the cover of the 2003 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. (She also appeared in the magazine's 2002 swimsuit edition.) Nemcova has been a cover model for Elle, Harper's Bazaar and other magazines, and has appeared in ads for Cartier and Victoria's Secret. She made a brief appearance in the French film Absolument fabuleux (2001, starring Marie Gillain and based loosely on the British TV show Absolutely Fabulous).

Extra credit: Nemcova suffered a broken pelvis and other injuries in the December 2004 tsunami which killed tens of thousands of people in the coastal regions of Asia and Africa. She had been vacationing in Phuket, Thailand with her boyfriend, photographer Simon Atlee. Atlee was killed in the disaster... Nemcova founded the Happy Hearts Fund to give aid to disaster-affected children in Asia... Other Czech models: Eva Herzigova, Karolina Kurkova and Daniela Pestova.